Bates Area Civic Association, Inc.

MONTHLY MEETING NOTICE




The agenda for this meeting will be largely consumed by a planning session for 2009. Please bring your
ideas of speakers, projects and programs
that you would like to see the BACA
sponsor during this calendar year.


Monday, January 5, 2009
Mount Sinai Baptist Church
3rd and Q Streets, N.W.
Rooms 1 and 2
7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

For more information regarding the meeting and/or the Association,
contact J. Berry at (202) 387-8520 or at jamojam@msn.com.


Community Update


As we enter into 2009, please know that the Bates Area Civic Association, Inc. acknowledges and sincerely appreciates the contribution of each and every resident to make and keep our community a clean, safe and productive place in which to live, work, worship and rear our children. Indeed, it is our hope that 2009 will be the best year ever for you and your family members.

Holiday Tree Collection Reminder: January 2-17, 2009:
Residents who receive DC trash collection service are encouraged to place holiday trees and other greenery in curbside tree boxes—without ornaments or tinsel—by January 2, 2009. Trees will be picked up during a special two-week collection from January 2 thru 17, 2009. Trees not collected by January 17th should be placed with your regular trash. DPW will collect the trees along with the regular trash, as truck space permits over the following weeks. Residents can also bring trees to the Fort Totten Transfer Station weekdays, between the hours of 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm, and on Saturdays, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, for free tree chipping. Trees collected after January 17th will not be recycled.

Inauguration 2009!
As you know, former Senator Barack Obama will be sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. By conservative estimates, in excess of 4 million visitors are expected to descend upon the District of Columbia to partake in several days of inaugural activities. Given our proximity to the U.S. Capitol and other historic locations that will certainly attract huge crowds of visitors, we thought it particularly significant to let you know that the District of Columbia has a 2009 Presidential Inauguration website that “will assist you in finding information about the events surrounding the 56th Presidential Inauguration, including lodging information, transportation, security measures and closures.” For those of you who have internet capability, this site has all types of information about Inauguration 2009 that you will likely find to be valuable. The website address is http://inauguration.dc.gov. We strongly encourage you to pass this information along to your neighbors and friends in the community. Indeed, having an idea of what the city government is doing to prepare for this historic occasion should give you comfort as well as help you and yours to better prepare.

A Special Appeal to Residents of the Bates Area:
We are trying to reach out to as many residents as is possible to come to Monday’s meeting of the BACA. We will use this first meeting of 2009 to set an agenda for organizing ways to act on issues that we are confronted with, such as, but certainly not limited to –
Crime and violence on our neighbors and in our community,
Neighborhood cleanliness and beautification,
Residential Parking Permit Program,
Operation and utilization of charter school facilities,
Traffic calming on our streets, and
Economic development opportunities for North Capitol Street and our other commercial corridors.
We particularly need to hear from those of you who are new to the community and those who have never attended a civic association meeting in the past. Again, whatever your interest or point of view, we would like for your voice to be heard at the meeting, along with a recommendation as to what you believe we can do as a community to squarely address these concerns. The only way that we will make lasting inroads into these problems is for neighbors to come together to address them. You are urged to come to the meeting on Monday and share your thoughts and recommendations!